Foodist is a manifesto about real food and real science that proves once and for all that sustainable weight loss is possible by incorporating fresh, seasonal—and delicious—ingredients into every meal.

If you picked up this book, there’s a good chance this is not the first time you hoped a new eating plan would help you lose weight. Dieting is a popular hobby in the twenty-first century, and the result is typically a slow but steady weight gain over the years. Oops. Diets fail because they rely on willpower and restriction for achieving health goals, and ignore the reasons these tactics always backfire. Becoming a foodist helps you give up dieting forever and get on the real path to healthy, lasting weight control.

Foodist is an approach that actually celebrates food while taking you through the nutrition and psychology involved in eating well to help you move beyond the daily obstacles and bad habits that keep the tasteless, empty, and unsatisfying food-like products on your plate. Losing weight no longer has to be about sacrifice, deprivation, and willpower, and food will turn from something you fight into something you can actually love again. As Darya writes, “You don’t need a diet. You need an upgrade.”

Smart, accessible, and engaging, Foodist will help you tailor your eating habits to match your lifestyle and your food preferences, making sure the path you choose works for you in the short- and long-term. Not only will you permanently build healthier habits into your daily life, you’ll lose weight and enjoy food like never before.

Author InfoI'm Darya Pino Rose, a PhDork and dedicated foodist, currently residing in foggy San Francisco. I spend most of my time thinking and writing about food, health and science. I eat amazing things daily and haven't even considered "going on a diet" since 2007.

I was born and raised on the sunny beaches of southern California. Before becoming a foodist I tried and succeeded at every weight loss plan under the sun.

In 2010, I completed my Ph.D in neuroscience at UC San Francisco. About a year before graduating I started writing about food and health at my website, Summer Tomato. By the time I defended my thesis, I had a new career.

Summer Tomato was one of TIME's 50 Best Websites of 2011. I have a bachelor's degree in Molecular and Cell Biology from UC Berkeley, and wasÂ recognized as one of the top students in my graduating class of 2003. I also play Zelda.